Halloween Nightmare
by KaylaMicael
Summary: My late Halloween story... Please Read and Review, and I hope I don't disappoint; this is my first effort at this kind of story.
1. Chapter 1

Getting candy, throwing bugs (or bombs) at people who didn't give any, hitting on women in skimpy costumes, TP'ing Sam Register's house… yep, it was just another typical Halloween for the Warners.

"I still don't get why you dressed up as Paulie D," Dot scoffed at Wakko as they climbed back up to the water tower after a very eventful night. "What's scary about that?" Wakko stared at her as they entered.

"Jersey Shore's one of the most viewed shows on TV," he said, and then shuddered. "What's scarier than that?" Yakko grinned as he pulled out his fangs.

"Well, it must've worked," he said. "Y' got a big enough haul to last till next year." He hesitated, then shrugged. "… Well, till next Tuesday anyway."

With a grin, Wakko pulled out his gag bag and started digging around; after pulling out an anvil, gorilla mask, jack o' lantern, and Elvis, he handed his siblings their candy bags. Dot looked in hers, frowning.

"If you ate some of mine again, I'm gonna kill you."

"I didn't eat it last year!" Wakko protested. Dot rolled her eyes.

"Don't give me that dumb chicken story again," she said. Yakko walked over.

"Break it up, sibs," he said, grinning good naturedly. "C'mon, let's watch Dracula and mock the acting."

"Fine," both said, but hurried to the TV without any further bickering and soon everyone was laughing as if nothing ever happened.

"Hey, Wakko…" Dot said. "What would you do if you were stuck somewhere with a crazy guy who wanted to kill you?" Wakko frowned thoughtfully, then gave her a goofy smile.

"This!" He yanked out his mallet and smashed it into the floor. Yakko grinned and rolled his eyes, but Dot still looked curious.

"What if you didn't have that?" Wakko immediately frowned and started shuffling his feet. Finally he sighed heavily and his shoulders slumped.

"I don't know," he said sadly, looking ashamed. Yakko looked at him sympathetically, then smiled and hit his brother's arm playfully.

"Hey, cheer up, kid," he said. "You'd figure it out." Wakko looked up, his optimism instantly restored.

"You really think so?" His brother grinned.

"You're smarter than y' look," he teased, ignoring Dot's snort. "Besides, worse came to worse, I'd get ya out." Not wanting to miss out on the attention, Dot scooted up.

"Me too?" she asked eagerly. Yakko smiled and put an arm around each of his siblings.

"You bet, sister sibling," he said. "You have any idea how bored I'd be without you guys?"

Wakko and Dot both smiled as they leaned against their older brother.

"So, Dot, what would you do?" Yakko asked after a while. She immediately looked up, her black eyes wide, innocent, and incredibly cute.

"Pwease don't kill me?" she asked sweetly. Her brothers laughed.

Later that night, after the Warners had gone to bed, Yakko woke up suddenly, feeling uneasy. Sure, it was Halloween and he'd watched a bunch of scary movies, but this wasn't normal Halloween uneasiness. He just felt like something was wrong, and not just because of what night it was.

Out of a protective instinct acquired as the oldest brother, Yakko found himself looking over at his siblings in the other beds. Both were sleeping peacefully. He felt a little better, but he still couldn't shake that uneasy feeling. Something was just… off.

Finally, Yakko sighed and settled back down, telling himself to knock it off. He was a Warner, and Warners didn't get paranoid. Even if they were responsible for the only family they had.

_There's nothing to worry about… everything's fine._

Even so, it took him several minutes to get back to sleep. His last thought as he pulled the blanket up further was to wonder why the tower was getting colder.

**Ooooh, what'll happen? Finally got the first part up! YAY! Happy belated Halloween everyone!**


	2. Chapter 2

_It's cold._

Barely awake, Yakko reached out to grab his covers and pull them up further, but he couldn't find anything. He groaned as he woke up a little more, and realized that the cold wasn't the only thing that was wrong. His neck was stiff and his body felt sore. Come to think of it, where was his pillow? His eyes snapped open when he suddenly realized he wasn't in his bed. He was lying on a splintered wood floor in a dark, empty room. Yakko frowned as he sat up.

_Pretty cliché Halloween setting… am I dreaming?_

He closed his eyes and pinched himself, but when he opened an eye, nothing had changed. After a few more (painful) tries, it became clear that this most likely wasn't a dream. His confusion quickly turned to worry when he realized he was alone. How had he gotten here? Why was he here? Most of all, where were his siblings?

"Sibs?" he called. "Wakko? Dot?" When no answer came, Yakko squinted to make out more details. There was only one window, the source of the low light, but it was too fogged to look out of. He shook his head; it was cool, being October, but not enough to make that much fog. Was this some kind of crazy joke? Yakko thought nobody but him and his siblings could think up something this out there.

"Hello? Anyone here?" Suddenly, that uneasy feeling he got in the tower returned; that weird feeling that something wasn't right. But it was much stronger this time, and there was a strange tingling in his spine. He started trembling as he stood up.

"G-… guys?" he called shakily, getting more worried by the minute. The fact that he didn't know where he was only made it more obvious that he didn't know where his brother and sister were. What if something was happening to them? He was about to call out again when a strange scratching sound came from behind. Yakko whirled around to face the window and the fur on his neck pricked as it rose. He pinched himself again, hard, but nothing changed. He stared at the words.

They're here.

_Who did that? What is this, Lizzie Borden's house?_

Yakko looked around frantically.

"Who's there?" he yelled, a slight tremor in his voice. This was starting to freak him out, which was very uncommon, but what scared him most was the fact that whoever did it was clearly talking about his siblings. Yakko turned right away when more scratching came from behind, but no one was there. There was only more writing.

Find them if you can.

Anger immediately filled him, replacing any relief he felt at knowing his siblings were apparently here too. He whirled around, looking for whoever was doing this. Once again, nobody, and nothing, was there.

"Who did that?" he demanded, momentarily forgetting his fear. "Where are they?" He stopped and groaned.

_Great, now I'm talking to air. _

Suddenly he noticed a door and frowned. He'd just looked in that direction; was it there before? The questions began flooding his mind again; what was this creepy place? _**Where**_ was it? And why was he so scared? Finally, Yakko forced himself to step forward. He had to get to his siblings. They could be trapped somewhere, in trouble, or even worse.

Finally he stopped in front of the door. Taking a deep breath, he slowly turned the knob and walked through it.

"Hey, anyone here…"

He was cut off when the door suddenly shut behind him and whirled around. There was definitely no draft that could've done that. With a sense of foreboding, he tried the door again; sure enough, it was locked now.

_Okay, this is getting weirder than Rowan Atkinson. _

Yakko had always prided himself on being the "logical one", but by now he was convinced that he was either as completely unhinged as his brother or simply somewhere where logic didn't apply. Personally, he kind of preferred the latter. So, turning around, Yakko was about to take another tentative step when something dropped down in front of him. The minute he saw what it was, terror paralyzed him and every hair stood up.

Anyone who knew Yakko could safely vouch for the fact that he hated spiders. Often, just the sight of one was enough to send him into a frenzy. But even a person who didn't mind bugs would have to admit that this hairy thing was pretty nasty. For an arachnophobe, it was petrifying.

Yakko stood frozen to the spot, waiting for the hideous creature to scuttle off, but it just sat there. The oldest Warner backed up until he was against the door and started shaking like a leaf; he could swear the thing was staring at him. He pressed against the wall until the splinters on the wood dug into his back, willing it to swallow him up. But suddenly, a reproving voice came from the small part of his brain still thinking rationally.

_Seriously? You're trapped in some place that's like a set from Nosferatu with God knows what lurking in the shadows, and you're scared of a little eight legged thing the size of a toe? _

With that thought, he was transported back to a memory from two years ago. He and his siblings had been playing in the park near the tower. Wakko had climbed almost to the top of a small tree, and Dot, not to be outdone, was trying to follow. Of course, she was only four and struggling to get past the first branch. Seeing that she was about to fall, Yakko was hurrying over to help her when a small spider had scuttled in front of him. In the moment he froze, Dot slipped and fell, hitting the ground hard. Yakko had immediately snapped out of it and run to her. For one horrifying moment, he'd thought his little sister was hurt, but thankfully she was only stunned; and scared. Yakko had never been able to forget that horrible feeling of guilt as she clung to him, crying, while his brother was almost in tears asking if she was okay. He always remembered that as the first time he'd let his family down.

A familiar instinct began twinging deep inside, and the voice came again.

_They need you! Don't let it happen again! _

Clenching his jaw and forcing back his fear, Yakko forced himself to pry away from the wall. Lifting his still trembling foot (and wishing he was wearing shoes), he took a step forward. As he did, he remembered what he'd said to Wakko earlier.

_Worse came to worse, I'd get you out._

Yakko took a deep breath; he'd never broken a promise, and he certainly wasn't going to break one he made to his family. He might not know where he was, he might be scared almost out of his mind, but that didn't dim his brotherly instinct. He could feel when they were in trouble, and he was feeling that now. They were in trouble, and this thing was keeping him from getting to them. Lifting his other foot, he flung it out and kicked the ugly arachnid away as hard as he could.

With that one movement, a single goal rose in his mind, drowning out the feeling of danger that kept pricking at him and forcing him to move.

Yakko's heart pounded as he ran down the dark, creaking hall. His fur stood on end, and his entire body was tensed and trembling. For the first time, he was absolutely terrified. But that didn't matter. He didn't know where he was or how he'd gotten here, but he did know what he had to do.

_Wakko, Dot…_

He had to find them; that was the only thing that kept him from freezing with terror. He _**was**_ going to find them.

He clenched his fists so hard he could hear his gloves stretch and ran even faster, ignoring the splintered floorboards digging into his feet. Whatever was waiting for him, whether it was a chainsaw wielding maniac, DIP or Baloney the Dinosaur, he had to get through it. And he would.

Whatever it took, he was going to find his little brother and sister and get them out of here. Even if it was the last thing he did.

**Second Chapter, YES! My apologies for the wait, and sorry if it's not that great. This is about as long as I get with chapters; I usually specialize in one shots. I ask you to continue to be patient… I'm sort of hammering out the story as I go and juggling the end of quarter work for school, so I can't guarantee annual updates, but they will come. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Finally a new chapter! I'm very sorry for the wait; I actually had it written two days ago, but then I decided I didn't like it and rewrote it. I'm sorry if it's not very good, but I'm doing my best and suggestions are welcome. Please review this, and my previous chapter if you haven't yet, and in case I don't update beforehand have a very merry, totally insane-y Christmas!**

Yakko let his hand shake as he gripped the knob to the first room he'd come across in the rundown hallway. Even though he knew there was no one here, at least not nearby, he kept feeling that strange tingling in his spine and the pricking as his fur stood on end. All instincts that screamed that something was very close, and that this something was considerably hazardous to his health.

But another instinct was there too, one that made him keep moving despite his urge to run; the one that told him when his siblings needed his help. He pricked his ears as the door creaked open and stepped through it. He squinted as his eyes developed to the dim light.

"Guys?" he called softly. When no one answered, he took a step forward and tensed as the floor creaked underfoot. As he moved forward, he saw something slumped on a stool nearby. Despite the familiar shape, or maybe because of it, Yakko found himself tensing as he moved forward. Just being cautious was weird to him; normally the only thing that Yakko felt in a tense situation was the urge to jump right in and face it down.

_Wait… is that…?_

Suddenly, the figure slowly rose to an upright position. The moment he realized what it was, Yakko got a sick feeling deep in his stomach. Now he knew for sure; whatever this place was, it hated him. Staring at him from the stool was something he didn't want to see even in a normal situation: that stupid puppet that Scratchy tried to make them talk to.

_Perfect. What could possibly make this better than a creepy puppet? _

Yakko took a deep breath and started to take a step, intending to turn a wide circle around the thing. Maybe if he just ignored it, it wouldn't do anything weird. He was no stranger to weirdness, of course, but what he'd seen so far was the kind he was pretty sure he could do without. At that moment a floorboard creaked; the puppet snapped alert and seemed to glare, the dim light reflecting on the small glasses. Yakko drew back; it almost looked menacing.

"W-… what?" he muttered, unable to stop his voice from shaking. His spine tingled as a strange, dry chuckling came from the puppet. Figures it would talk too.

"You seem troubled." Even the squeaky voice was menacing; instead of the sickeningly cheerful one Scratchy always talked with, it was gravelly and mocking in an "I know something you don't know" kind of way.

Yakko crossed his arms. This was partly an attempt to at least fake the casual attitude that normally asserted itself in tough spots, but mostly it was to hide his trembling.

"Well, I don't know where I am, my family's missing, and I'm standing about a foot away from something that already tries to shrink my head twice a week. So, ahhhh… yeah, I guess I'm 'troubled'. What's it to you?"

A twisted little smile seemed to cross the puppet's face.

"Have you forgotten? Analyzing fears and anxieties is part of what I do."

Yakko couldn't help rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, and the other part's causing 'em," he muttered. He could never understand why talking to an inanimate object was supposed to make someone feel less crazy.

"So, what are you really afraid of?" the puppet asked. "Not finding them? Not finding them in _**time**_?"

Yakko stiffened, his heart pounding a mile a minute. This thing was doing what no one had ever been able to do … getting inside his head. The puppet smirked nastily, crossing its arms. It seemed to sense its advantage.

"Or maybe it's finding them both, but only leaving with the one most important to you?"

The fur on Yakko's back rose, but not from fear this time; if this thing was suggesting he didn't care as much about one sibling than the other…

"_**What?**_" he almost snarled. Unmoved by his fury, the puppet leaned forward.

"Between you and me…" it said in a mockingly serious tone. "If you had to, I think you'd pick her."

"You… you're crazy!" Yakko immediately snapped, but there was a tiny part of his mind that wondered if it was true. A lot of people did assume that he was closer to his sister…

No. This thing was just trying to confuse him. He'd jump off a cliff before choosing one sibling over the other, and not in the gag sense.

"You're crazy!" he said again. "I wouldn't do that!" The puppet cocked its head.

"Really?" it said, in strange voice that made Yakko tense. "Well, we'll just have to see."

Suddenly, his head started buzzing and a ringing started in his ears, so extreme that he had to close his eyes, pressing his hands to his ears. When the ringing eased, he opened his eyes slightly only to find he was in a different place… or maybe it was just a different room, by now he wouldn't be surprised if he was in a different country.

"Hello?" he called softly.

"Yakko!" He instantly whirled around.

"Dot? Where are you?"

Her frantic voice called out again.

"Yakko, help!"

His eyes still adjusting to the dark, Yakko followed her voice across the room. Suddenly there was a cracking sound and the floor caved in under his foot. He gritted his teeth at the stinging pain when his leg scraped the edge of the cracked boards. After a little while, he heard them clatter on the floor below and gulped; it sounded like a long way down. As he carefully pulled his leg back out, a dim light shone from the room underneath and more of the rotting wood gave in, making the hole larger. Yakko rolled to avoid falling in, and then caught a look under it. A heavy looking metal wheel that could have been a chandelier was hanging there, creaking alarmingly. And hanging onto it were his brother and sister, looking terrified.

"Guys!" he gasped, dropping to his knees on the edge of the hole. "What happened?" Both looked at him with confused, scared faces and he could see them trembling.

"We… we don't know! Help!" Dot cried. Yakko made himself think; Dot was on the edge closer to him, and Wakko was across from her. If he came to the other side so Yakko could pull them both up, the wheel could fall before he could. As much as he hated the idea, he knew he'd have to pull them up one at a time. Yakko crossed his fingers and reached his hand down; luckily they were in reach. Dot grabbed it, and as Yakko worked to pull her up he looked over at his brother, who was clinging to the wheel and almost frozen with fear. Suddenly the words of the puppet echoed in his head.

_If you had to, I think you'd pick her._

His heart immediately fell, but then he forced himself to focus. He wasn't picking one over the other, and they were all getting out of here.

Pulling his sister up, Yakko reached back down. Wakko looked at him with huge eyes, shaking. Yakko smiled encouragingly and was about to call for him to move over when the floor cracked deafeningly and the wheel lurched. Yakko started to panic as his brother cried out.

"H-help me!" he gasped. Dot gasped and moved closer to the hole in the floor.

"Hang on!" she called, sounding terrified.

Forcing himself to stay calm, Yakko reached down as far as he could. But his reach was still too short.

"Come on!" he called urgently. "Just a little further…" Wakko took a deep breath and started to move forward, but the minute he shifted his weight, the floorboards started snapping violently. Yakko's heart almost stopped and he started shaking. Reaching down as far as he could, he snatched for his brother but just barely missed before the floor caved in and Dot yanked him back.

A crash came from below, followed by a cry of pain that quickly cut off. A sick feeling pounding in his stomach, Yakko stumbled over and looked down, but there was too much dust to see anything.

"Wakko!" he yelled. When no answer came, he looked over at his sister, who looked just as scared as he felt. They both knew that even though toons could protect themselves, they could still be injured just as easily, and badly, as humans if they didn't know what was coming.

"Stay here!" Yakko said grimly. "I'm gonna go down there!"

Dot nodded, but was still too scared to say anything. Yakko managed a reassuring smile, then quickly turned back to the gaping hole. As he thought, it was a long way down.

His first impulse was to do a toon jump, but that small voice of reason stopped him. What if toon powers just didn't apply here? After all, the scratch he'd gotten still hadn't healed like it should've. That thought only increased Yakko's fear for his brother; in human logic, a fall like that could hurt someone badly. He wanted to get down there now, but if he jumped and broke something he wouldn't be much help. It was probably better to play it safe and find stairs or something.

"Stay here, sis," he said. "I'm gonna have to find another way down there."

Dot looked up at him with wide eyes; he could tell she was scared of being alone.

"B-but… but…"

Yakko managed a smile and hugged her, trying to calm her down.

"Hey, it's gonna be okay. we're Warners, remember? The only thing we're better at than making messes is getting out of 'em."

Dot nodded, but she was still trembling.

"Just… what if…" Her brother patted her shoulder.

"It'll be okay. Just stay right here, and try talking to Wakko, okay?"

Dot gulped, then nodded and hurried back to the hole in the floor. Yakko smiled grimly and turned, running toward the door. But the minute he hurried out, he felt his head start buzzing again.

_No! Not now!_

He struggled to force it back, but it was no use. He was forced to close his eyes again; when they opened, he was back in the other room with the puppet smirking nastily.

_Was that… a dream?_

But then he felt his leg stinging and realized that the scratch was still there. Whatever just happened, it wasn't fake. Yakko knew he really hadn't been choosing between his siblings, but he felt just as terrible as if he had. Now, thanks to his decisions, they were separated again and it was even worse than before: his sister was alone and worst of all, his brother was probably hurt.

"Was that some kind of sick joke?" he snapped, clenching his fists. The puppet shrugged.

"Just proof I was right."

At that, Yakko saw red.

"I don't know what's going on here," he snarled angrily. "But leave my sibs alone!"

The puppet shrugged.

"_**I**_ didn't do anything," it said calmly. At that, Yakko lost it completely; he stormed over and snatched the puppet off the stool.

"Where are they?" he snapped. But now the thing flopped limply, not responding at all. Yakko groaned and dropped it. He'd already messed up once and gotten his siblings in even worse trouble; now he'd lost what might have been the only way to find them quickly. They were counting on him, and he just kept messing up.

_What's __**wrong**__ with me? Why can't I…_

His head snapped up at a familiar scratching sound. He looked at the window and his eyes widened.

Better hurry.

Pushing his self loathing to the back of his mind, for now at least, Yakko immediately turned and ran to the door. He crossed his fingers, then turned the knob, smiling grimly when the door opened. But as he stepped out, the prickling feeling came again as his fur rose, his feet tingling with the urge to run.

To his surprise, it wasn't so hard to push it back this time. He wasn't going through this to get himself out, after all.

_I sat through all the Twilight movies, __**twice**__. I can handle anything._

**Disclaimer: I don't own Animaniacs and no profit was made from this. This story is simply for fun.**


	4. Chapter 4

Yakko kept running down the hall as the floor creaked loudly, struggling to focus his spinning mind. For once, coming up with an idea was proving exceedingly difficult to do. Not only did he still have no idea where he was or how he got there, he was almost sick with worry; for both of his siblings, but he was most scared for his brother. The scene kept replaying in his head, the floor caving in, the just missed grab, and worst of all, the pained scream. The thought kept running through his mind that he should have done something different, tried harder, been faster…

_I shouldn't have left him there._

Yakko shook his head hard; if he kept thinking like that, the guilt would drive him crazy. And that hadn't been the case, he kept telling himself. In any case, it didn't matter whose fault it was. All that mattered was getting back and fixing it… if it could be, anyway.

Yakko immediately pushed that thought back; what it implied made him feel so sick he couldn't see. All that he could do now was focus, keep moving, and hope that Wakko wasn't too seriously hurt and Dot was still safe.

Taking a deep breath, Yakko reached over and pulled open yet another door; the room beyond was dark as well, but he could still look around. To his relief, there were no weird living puppets or spiders, but there were no siblings in there either. As he stepped in to look around more, the scratching came again, and he turned around quickly, wondering if it was just his bad luck that every place he went into had windows. But this time, there wasn't even any writing; just five lines.

_What's that supposed to mean?_

Before Yakko could think much further on it, something very strange happened. A chill ran down his spine as two of the lines faded away. Just then, the buzzing began in Yakko's head again. Against his will, he began trembling, even though he felt some hope. Maybe he'd get zapped or teleported or whatever it was back to where his siblings were.

But when he opened one eye to see where he was, they flew open in shock. He was in the Toontown police station, in a small office room.

"What…" he started as he looked around, but the next sight he met stunned him into silence. It was… well, him. But he was younger, smaller, and his dull eyes brimmed with barely held back tears as he sat in a chair, visibly trembling. Voices were coming from outside, but the words were unintelligible.

Prying his eyes away from his younger self, Yakko moved closer to the door and looked through the window near the top. Outside, an angry looking female toon officer was arguing with a human one; strangely, their voices were now clear.

"The parents explicitly stressed that they not be separated, and they're in the custody of the studio, so there's no reason to!" the toon woman snapped. Yakko felt his throat tighten as he realized what was going on. If everything else he'd gone through to this point was bad, this was just plain cruel. This was a memory he'd been trying to suppress for years. The human officer rubbed his head.

"Look, I get that," he said, "But the kid's just eight. It'd be tough, sure, but they'd get over it, they're toons."

Yakko clenched his teeth in anger. So because they were toons, they didn't have feelings? He was almost glad he hadn't heard this conversation when he was young; he'd have probably charged out and given the officer the mallet. From the look on the toon officer's face, she was considering the same thing.

"Listen up, you brainless slob," she growled softly. "The 'toons' you're referring to are terrified kids who just lost their parents and think they're going to lose each other now. When we separated them just for now, you should have seen the two little ones. They were practically screaming, begging us not to take them away. The oldest was barely holding it together. The decision is mine, and I am not tearing apart this family any more than it already has. So you concentrate on your job, which is finding out who did it and how they got the DIP."

Yakko quickly backed up as the toon woman came toward the door, but she walked past with no sign of seeing him and walked over to his eight-year-old self, who looked up with wide, red-rimmed eyes.

"I'm sorry about that," she said quietly.

"Where… where'd you take my sibs?" the young Yakko asked, his voice shaking. The toon woman smiled and gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It's all right," she said soothingly. "You're not being separated. Your mom and dad left all three of you in the custody of the WB studio. I just need to ask you a few questions first, all right?"

At the small nod, she continued.

"Okay, when your mom and dad left, did they tell you where they were going?"

"J-just for a drive… they-they did… do it every Friday."

"Okay, and do they always have you watch your brother and sister?"

Yakko bit his lip worriedly at the mention of his siblings, and his younger self looked up at the officer with a glare.

"I want to," he said fiercely. The woman bit her lip and quickly nodded.

"Okay, I'm sorry. Did they seem worried about anything?"

After shaking his head, the young Yakko sniffled and started trembling again.

"W-… why'd they do it?" he whimpered.

The toon officer frowned, then sighed heavily.

"I don't know, honey. They were toon haters… I don't think any of us will understand them."

The buzzing started again, and when Yakko opened his eyes again, he was in another room and his eyes widened when he saw his brother and sister, but strangely, he couldn't move or call out. Then he saw that they too were much younger; he was still in this dream or whatever it was.

Yakko watched as his two-year-old sister clung to Wakko's arm, whimpering as tears spilled from her eyes. Wakko didn't move, but just sat still on the floor. His hat, much too big for him at four years old, fell over his eyes as he stared at a newspaper ad for a litter of kittens. Yakko felt a lump rising in his throat as fear for his brother flared up again.

Suddenly the door to the room opened, and Yakko turned to see his own younger self hurry in. Dot immediately jumped up.

"Yakko!" she squealed, running over with an awkward toddler gait. She clutched his hands, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Where's Mommy and Daddy?" she whimpered. "When're they coming back?"

The eight-year-old Yakko scooped Dot up and hugged her close.

"They're not, baby sis," he said softly. "But we're staying together." Still holding her, he walked over to Wakko, who was still staring at the kittens in the ad. As he slowly looked up, his hat slid back to reveal empty, bloodshot eyes. It looked as if he'd been crying for hours. He glanced back down at the kittens.

"They don't have a mom and dad," he said quietly, then started shaking and looked up again.

"W-what'll happen to them?" he squeaked, his eyes wide and scared.

The young Yakko bit his lip, then gently set Dot down and knelt beside Wakko, pulling him into a hug.

"Their big brother l' take care of them," he said. Wakko looked up.

"P-… promise?"

"Promise."

Yakko watched as his eight-year-old self held his crying younger siblings and closed his eyes as they burned with tears. It felt like he was reliving the pain of his parents' death all over again. But another scratching sound pulled him out of his grief, and he saw that he was back in the present again.

Yakko's sighed heavily with relief, but sank down to the floor. For several minutes, he sat there and struggled to hold back the urge to cry. The years since had made it a little easier, but he still missed his parents, and he knew his siblings did too. Finally, out of years of effort, he gulped down the lump in his throat. Just then, a sudden scratching made Yakko's ears stand up straight. Steeling himself, he looked at the window. Something was written below the three remaining lines.

You didn't keep it.

As he watched in horror, two of the three lines left in the glass seemed to flicker, then slowly faded away. Yakko's legs started shaking and his heart began pounding in his throat. As he watched, more words were scratched into the glass.

Hurry before it's too late.

At that, everything seemed to disappear; Yakko knew he should be moving, but his mind was a blur of terror and shock. The thought of facing life without his brother and sister was unthinkable; it was like knowing the sun wouldn't come up tomorrow. And if it was all his fault… he closed his eyes.

_No…_

But once again, that ever present and slightly annoying voice of reason seemed to kick his brain, yelling angrily at him to suck it up and get moving. So, clenching his fists again, Yakko made his feet move, back out the doorway and into the hallway again. He could kick himself all he wanted later, but right now he had a responsibility.

"Wakko! Dot!" he yelled. "Answer me!"

As he kept running, a strange feeling of confidence began growing inside. He was going to find them, whatever happened, and they were all getting out of here, wherever it was. But just when he started to really believe it was going to be okay, there was a loud creaking right under him. The next thing he knew, the floor caved in.

Yakko frantically grabbed at the wood on the edge of the hole, wincing as the splinters scratched his gloved hands. But it only held for a second, and then it crumbled. Yakko tried to make his body go rubbery, but as he'd feared earlier, there was barely any effect. Suddenly pain hit, knocking the air out of his lungs, and his vision blurred, dancing with red spots.

He wasn't sure how long it was before things started clearing and he realized he was on his back, on a pile of wood.

_Ow…_

As Yakko sat up, his head buzzing and body sore, he wondered how bad the fall would've been if he hadn't managed that small bit of defense. It definitely hurt, but no bones were broken and there didn't seem to be any serious damage. The memory of Wakko's fall suddenly came back with a slight hope; maybe he managed to defend himself too. Deep down though, Yakko doubted it; he also remembered his brother's face. He was terrified, and concentration was vital for toon powers.

Trying to ignore that thought, Yakko slowly stood and groaned as he cracked his back. He made a mental note to try not to drop anvils on people so much after this… or at least shield them a little better.

_Okay, where am I now? _

Wherever it was, it was almost pitch dark. The only things he could see were his white gloves. When he took a deep breath and stepped forward, a sharp pain shot through his leg and he felt a warm trickle running through the fur. He limped forward a few steps, only to run into a door. Squinting in the darkness, he felt for the doorknob and slowly turned it. To his relief, it wasn't locked.

Yakko took a breath and stepped through the doorway, hoping there wasn't anything bad there. The next room was a little brighter so he looked down to check his leg. His slacks were torn, and the scratch was ripped even wider and bleeding. Biting his lip, he tore off a piece of the cuff and wrapped it around the gash. It still hurt horribly, but it wasn't so bad that he couldn't walk.

Suddenly, a quiet rustling reached his ears. Immediately stiffening, Yakko looked up and squinted at another pile of wood nearby.

"Who's there?" he called, his voice slightly angry. If it was something else that was going to try to mess with his head again… Well, not try, considering that every attempt so far had hit home.

But instead, a small, shaking voice came from under the wood.

"Y-Yakko?"

His eyes snapped wide and his sore leg was instantly forgotten.

"Dot!" He immediately stumbled over and started yanking away the heavy wood. When he reached her his stomach twisted; she was heavily bruised and there was a nasty looking cut just above her forehead.

"What happened?" Yakko demanded as he gently lifted her out and into his lap, checking her over for any more injuries.

His sister wrapped her arms around him, trembling.

"I-I fell…" she whimpered. "E-everything… caved in…"

"Shh…" Yakko said, examining the cut. It wasn't bleeding much, but it still looked pretty bad.

"Are you okay?" he asked anxiously.

"I… I think so," Dot said, then her eyes widened. "But… w-what about…"

"Wakko? Did he say anything?" Her eyes filled with tears as she shook her head.

"H-… he never answered."

Yakko felt a sickening feeling rise in his stomach. He tried hard to gulp it down and hugged her, being careful of her head.

"Don't worry sis, we'll find him. Can you walk?" She nodded.

"I'm okay." Yakko supported her as she stood and took a few shaky steps. He tried to hide his worry as he spoke.

"How far'd you go? Before everything caved in?" She looked at him with slightly dazed eyes.

"Just the… the door."

Yakko immediately perked up: if she'd only gone that far, then Wakko had to be close. He looked around and saw a door on the other side of the room.

"Okay, c'mon," he said, grabbing her hand. "He's gotta be around here."

Suddenly the buzzing started in his head again, making his heart pound with panic. This couldn't happen again; how would he get back here if he got sent somewhere else again?

Closing his eyes tightly, Yakko tightened his grip on Dot's hand and ordered himself to push it back. That gravelly voice the puppet talked in suddenly echoed in his head.

_Well, well, look at this. I guess I was right after all. And to think, you couldn't even keep her safe. Such a shame._

Yakko clenched his teeth; every single word was hitting him like a kick in the stomach, but this wasn't the time to cave in.

"Shut up!" he snarled. "Just leave me alone!"

He thought he heard a strange chuckle as the buzzing faded, then a very quiet, mocking tone.

_You'll still have to choose._

"Yakko?"

His eyes snapped open; he was still in the same place. Dot was shaking his arm.

"A-are you okay?" she asked shakily. With a sigh of relief, Yakko smiled and hugged her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's find our brother and get the heck out of here." Still holding her hand, he straightened up and limped toward the door. He frowned with worry as his sister held his hand tightly, whimpering softly. He could tell the cut was hurting her, but she didn't say anything. Yakko immediately shuddered when he pulled it open and saw the wheel crashed into the floor. Dot gasped and tightened her grip on his hand. Trying his best to stay calm for her sake, Yakko hurried over to look for Wakko as she watched fearfully.

_Please be okay; please be okay…_

But as soon as he reached the wheel and looked, his heart dropped to his feet; between two spokes, lay his younger brother, completely motionless. Yakko was barely aware of his sister watching with wide eyes as he carefully lifted Wakko out, tears stinging in his eyes at how limp he was. Yakko slowly sat down and gently laid his brother down so that his head was resting on his lap. If he'd been like this ever since he fell…

Yakko looked up when he heard a creaking; Dot was walking over unsteadily. He swallowed when he saw that she still looked dazed. Cleary, she wasn't in very good shape either.

"Is… is he okay?" she asked, looking scared.

Yakko blinked to clear his vision and looked closely at his brother. To his intense relief, he was breathing; slowly and unevenly, but he was alive.

"I don't know," Yakko said shakily. "What about you?"

His sister slumped against the wheel and bit her lip.

"M-my head hurts…" she whimpered.

Yakko felt his throat tighten with despair and closed his eyes. He was supposed to keep his siblings safe, to be there for them when they were in trouble. But now they were both hurt, one definitely couldn't walk, the other might not be able to soon, and he wasn't sure if he would be able to carry them both with his leg. Would he have to choose between them after all? His heart broke at the thought; he knew that if it came to that, he'd never forgive himself.

Suddenly, he felt a light stirring in his lap and looked down to see Wakko slowly open his eyes.

"Wak?" he asked urgently. "Are you okay? Can you hear me?"

His brother looked up at him; his eyes were dull with pain, but they quickly focused. Surprisingly, there was no anger or blame, just relief.

"Yakko…" he muttered, then winced and moaned quietly.

"Easy, sib," Yakko said, looking over at his sister when she whimpered again. As he tried to force his exhausted brain to work, he noticed Wakko follow his gaze. He looked up and smiled weakly, trying to look brave despite his obvious suffering.

"Don't w-worry… about… me. Y-you… can go…"

Yakko stared at him in complete disbelief, and then clenched his teeth: if his little brother could be this strong, hell if he was going to weasel out now. The memory of what he said the night their parents died came back, but this time he didn't feel sad, just determined. He'd made a promise, and he was keeping it. Slowly and carefully, he scooped Wakko into his arms and stood up, biting back the pain in his leg from the extra weight.

"Are you kidding?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

His brother looked up at him, his eyes wide. Then he slowly smiled again as his eyes closed. Yakko smiled back and gently ruffled his hair.

"Dot would kill me."

Yakko walked over to his sister and knelt down.

"Sis?"

She looked up, and pushed herself to her feet.

"I would, ya know," she said softly as she leaned against him. Yakko couldn't help grinning as he shifted his unconscious brother to one arm and put his other around her.

"Don't worry, he didn't hear." She giggled slightly.

As they headed back the way they came, Yakko bit his lip as his leg started pounding. He didn't know what he'd do if it didn't hold up. But when he got to the door, his fear came back; it was closed. Taking his arm off his sister, he slowly reached out and grabbed the knob. Sure enough, it was locked.

"Oh no…"

Dot looked up with still hazy eyes.

"What's wrong?"

Yakko gulped.

"Uh… I think we're gonna have to look around a little."

She bit her lip and nodded, but stumbled dizzily when she took a step. Yakko quickly picked her up with his free arm and bit back a groan as his leg started to cave.

"A-are you okay?" Dot asked. He nodded, and forced himself to stand straight, ignoring his leg.

"Yeah, I'm fine… you?"

She snorted.

"I'm not dead, if that's what you mean."

Yakko rolled his eyes, but before he could reply, the scratching started again. He groaned.

_What now? _

But before he could look around, he felt Wakko slump and start breathing even heavier. Just a second later, Dot did the same. Yakko quickly knelt down as he started panicking.

"Guys?" he asked frantically. "Sibs, c'mon, wake up!" No answer, but suddenly the scratching started again. He looked up angrily, but when he found the window what was on it made him frown with confusion.

It was just the three lines again.

"What…" he started, but then that alarming buzzing started in his head again.

"Oh no… no…"

He shook his head, but it just kept getting worse. As things started blurring, he pulled his siblings closer and clenched his teeth. Whatever happened, they couldn't be separated again. It kept getting harder to keep his eyes open, until they finally fell shut.

Everything went black.

…

**I'm back! Sorry the update took so long! this ended up being a little longer than my usual chapters, so just think of it as two mashed together. The final chapter will follow soon. I'm very sorry the story isn't longer, but I usually do one-shots and that's just how it worked out, so I really hope I didn't disappoint. **


	5. Chapter 5

Yakko slowly came out of the fog, looking around. He could tell he was in another room again, and immediately after that realized he was alone again; he'd lost his siblings again. Quickly sitting up, he groaned; there was the puppet again on a stool. The comedy director would have been a more welcome sight than that.

"Look, I don't know what you want, but just leave my siblings alone!"

The puppet just quietly sat there with one hand on its chin, looking at him thoughtfully as if it hadn't heard. Finally it spoke.

"I'm impressed."

Yakko jumped to his feet, grunting at the pain in his leg, and glared.

"Great, your opinion means absolutely nothing," he snapped. "What happened to them?"

The puppet waved a hand dismissively, making the fur on Yakko's neck rise.

"Don't worry about that," it said. "I must say, this was very interesting…I wasn't expecting this."

Yakko clenched his fists again, so hard that a glove ripped. This marked the first time he wanted to literally kill Mr. Puppethead. He'd been through hell and back, his family was missing again, they were hurt, and now this thing was acting like it was nothing.

"Expecting what?" he growled.

The puppet shrugged.

"You didn't stop," it said. "And they counted on you the whole time. That's not very common."

Its curious tone made Yakko frown even deeper.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he snapped. The puppet went on as if it wasn't listening.

"Maybe it's because you're a little stranger than others."

Yakko narrowed his eyes. As far as he was concerned, they were as normal as the day was long, but if people wanted to think that they weren't, there wasn't much point in correcting them.

"Weird or not, we're all the family we've got, and I love them!"

The puppet frowned thoughtfully.

"Really?" it said, sounding genuinely curious. Yakko clenched his fists again. He knew they were toons, but why did that make others assume they didn't have feelings or care about each other?

"Yeah, I'm tired of wasting time sitting here talking to what seems like something from Saw when they need help!"

The puppet cocked its head.

"Very strange," it said quietly, as if to itself. "Even when you got them in trouble they didn't stop trusting." Yakko felt his fur rise even more.

"I don't have time for this!" he growled. "So either tell me where my sibs are or drop dead!"

The puppet smirked; Yakko could swear it almost looked impressed.

"Well, this was very interesting. Well done." With that, it flopped down lifeless on the stool. Yakko was completely confused by now, but suddenly he started feeling strangely drowsy. As his eyes got heavier, he stumbled over to the wall and felt for a door.

_No! I have to find them! I can't… can't…_

But it didn't help; he just slid down the wall as he kept getting more tired. If his siblings were hurt, what if they were getting worse? If he passed out, he might not wake up in time to help them. But despite his efforts, his eyes closed and everything went numb.

_Wakko… Dot…_

His last thought was to hope that they were going to be okay. He didn't know how long it was before his senses started to return. The first thing he realized was that his leg didn't hurt anymore, then his ears instantly pricked at what he heard.

"Jeez, he's really out."

"Yeah, now you know how we feel waiting for you."

Yakko's eyes immediately snapped open and he sat up in bed… in bed? He looked around and saw that he was back in the tower. Then he saw them. His siblings were standing nearby, looking impatient.

"Guys!"

Without a second thought, Yakko jumped up and ran over, hugging them both as tightly as he could as tears of relief welled in his eyes. Then he drew back and looked them over, starting to feel confused. There was no sign of injury on either one.

"Are you okay?" he asked anxiously. Wakko and Dot glanced at each other, then back at him.

"Are you?" Wakko asked, cocking his head.

"You don't remember?" Yakko stared at his brother, but he just looked confused.

"What?"

Yakko looked over at Dot.

"You don't either?" he asked, frowning.

His sister squinted at him.

"What're you talking about?" she asked suspiciously. Yakko rubbed his head; to be honest, he was starting to have a hard time remembering himself. Had that whole awful experience just been some kind of… nightmare? Come to think of it, what exactly had happened in it?

"Uh… well, I… I, uh…"

Dot glanced over at Wakko, then back at Yakko.

"Yakko… did you, by any chance, get one of those weird brownies the hippy on the corner gives out?"

He frowned and rubbed his head. What had happened? He tried to recall the details, but all he could remember was that he'd never been more scared in his life.

"No, just… had a crazy dream."

He looked back up at his siblings, and for some reason, he felt so relieved that they were okay. He smiled and hugged them both again.

"I love you," he said softly. Slowly, they returned it.

"We love you too." Wakko said, still sounding confused. Dot nodded.

"But I thought we only get sappy on Christmas and birthdays," she said. Yakko quickly drew back, blinking back the tears welling in his eyes for some reason.

"Sorry," he muttered.

Dot cocked her head and frowned, but before she could ask the questions that she would undoubtedly have, Wakko perked up and grinned.

"So, can we go smash leftover jack o lanterns now?" he asked eagerly. Yakko grinned back and ruffled his cap playfully.

"You bet, kid. You guys go ahead, okay? I'll catch up."

Both siblings scurried from the bedroom; despite the fact that they lived in a water tower there was always plenty of room. Yakko smiled, and then sat down on his bed, rubbing his head. He tried hard to remember his nightmare, but everything was such a blur. All he could remember was being scared, and for some reason, that puppet of Scratchy's. He also wondered why he was thinking about their parents; he hadn't done that in a long time.

Finally, Yakko sighed and let his hand drop to his lap.

_Oh, well… I guess it was just…_

Just then, he noticed something. He looked closer and realized there was a tear in one of his gloves. For some reason he felt uneasy as he pulled it off.

_How'd that happen?_

Yakko finally tossed the glove away and grabbed a new one from a drawer.

_Oh, well._

He pulled the glove on, and then stood up.

"Wait up, sibs!" he yelled, running toward the door. Whatever fear was left from that nightmare, it would be forgotten by the end of the day.

…

**Well, that's all! I hope you enjoyed the story; this was my first real attempt to combine drama and comedy, so I'm not sure if I did the best job on it and I'm sorry if it didn't turn out very good, but I did my best. I specialize in one shots, so stories with numerous chapters from me will probably all be about this length, if I publish one. Any advice that would make me a better writer is welcome, and thank you for your very kind reviews to all who did. I'm not sure when I'll be publishing something new since the slow traffic in this universe has been discouraging, but I'll still be reviewing and if I get an idea it'll be here. Adios! **


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